Confidants' non supportive reactions to disclosure in child sexual abuse constitutes an
extensive and significant problem and is associated with a variety of negative
consequences: (a) Victims do not receive adequate support or intervention and are left
vulnerable to further victimization, (b) non-supportive intra-familial confidants are at
greater risk of having their children removed, and (c) the justice system is rendered
ineffective by the associated lack of police reporting. This study examined the extent of
non-supportive disclosure and the factors associated with such reactions in a sample of
856 cases of child sexual abuse (796 girls and 60 boys) reported in the North Durban
policing area of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) in the period January 2001 to December
2003. Of the various agents identified as having provided non-supportive reactions, three
categories of non-supportive confidants emerged: namely family members, professional
persons, and community members in their respective order of significance. Hierarchical
cluster analysis of disclosure variables identified two broad homogenous groups
(clusters) of cases of non-'supportive disclosure ("Incestuous Abuse Disclosed Within the
Family", and "Extra-familial Abuse Disclosed Outside of the Family"). Binary logistic
regression analysis indicated that cluster membership was meaningfully predicted by the
three measure of consanguinity included in the analysis, but not significantly related to
other abuse related variables. Furthermore, in cases of extra-familial abuse, nonsupportive
disclosure was significantly more likely when (a) victims were below the age
of twelve years, (b) no violence was used by the offender, and (c) the confidant was not
related to the victim. The implications of the findings for secondary prevention and for
future research are discussed in detail in this article.